1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an automatic inflator for inflatable articles such as life rafts, life vests, and the like. In the disclosed preferred embodiment thereof, the inflator is capable of operation both manually and automatically, the inflator in the latter mode of operation being operated automatically upon its subjection to water.
2. Description of the Background Art
Presently, there exists many types of inflators designed to inflate inflatable articles such as personal floatation devices (life vests, rings and horseshoes), life rafts, buoys and emergency signalling equipment. Inflators typically comprise a body for receiving the neck of a cartridge of compressed gas such as carbon dioxide. A reciprocating piercing pin is disposed within the body of the inflator for piercing the frangible seal of the cartridge to permit compressed gas therein to flow into a manifold assembly of the inflator and then into the article to be inflated. Typically, a manually movable firing lever is operatively connected to the piercing pin such that the piercing pin pierces the frangible seal of the cartridge upon jerking of a ball lanyard. U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,288, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein, illustrates one particular embodiment of a manual inflator.
While manual inflators work suitably well, it was quickly learned that in an emergency situation, the person needing the assistance of the inflatable device, such as a downed aviator, injured person, or a man overboard, would fail or be unable to manually activate the inflator. Accordingly, it was realized that a means should be provided for automatically activating the inflator in such an emergency situation.
In response to this realized inadequacy of the prior art manual inflators, water activated automatic inflators were developed which, when exposed to a fluid such as water, automatically activated the piercing pin of the inflator when immersed in water thereby causing inflation of the inflatable device. Typical water activated automatic inflators comprise a water activated trigger assembly including a water destructible or dissolvable element which retains a spring-loaded actuator pin in a cocked position in alignment with a piercing pin. Upon exposure to water, causing the element to destruct or dissolve, the spring loaded actuator pin is released to forcibly move from the cocked position to an actuated position to strike the piercing pin, either directly or indirectly by means of an intermediate transfer pin. Upon striking the piercing pin, the pin fractures the seal of the cartridge thereby allowing the gas contained therein to flow into the inflatable device to inflate the same. Representative automatic actuators for inflators are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,059,814, 3,091,782, 3,426,942, 3,579,964, 3,702,014, 3,757,371, 3,910,457, 3,997,079, 4,223,805, 4,267,944, 4,260,075, 4,382,231, 4,436,159, 4,513,248, 4,627,823, and 5,076,468, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference herein.
While the above referenced automatic inflators operate quite well in inflating inflatable devices in the event of an emergency situation, one major disadvantage to these automatic inflators is their tendency to be prematurely activated in non-emergency situations by errant moisture and water splashes coming into contact with the water destructible or dissolvable element contained in the actuator body. This unwanted water contact was due to the design of the apertures on the actuator bodies utilized in the prior art. The apertures are to facilitate the entering of water into the actuator body during emergency situations, like when an aviator is downed in the ocean, so that the water will contact the destructible or dissolvable element and thereby automatically activate the inflator.
The problem of prematurely and unintentionally activated automatic inflators is so acute that it is not uncommon to be readily replacing the water destructible elements and resetting the automatic inflators on a regular basis when the inflators are constantly stored around water. It is noted that each of the prior art water activated automatic inflators disclosed in the above referenced patents teach a structure which may easily be disassembled to facilitate the replacement of the water destructible element and gas-containing capsule so that the inflator may be reused.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvement which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the inflation art.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator that has an actuator body having specially designed apertures so as to preclude errant moisture and water splashes from prematurely activating the automatic inflator in non-emergency situations.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator having an actuator body with apertures designed such that the bottom internal side of the apertures are sloped from inward to outward thereby preventing water splashes from entering the actuator body and contacting the water destructible element therein and activating the inflator.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator that has an actuator body having an internal means for preventing the water destructible element and actuator pin from twisting relative to each other while resetting and assembling the inflator thereby preserving the pre-release structure of the water destructible element which was being deformed upon initial engagement with the actuator pin upon assembly.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator that will only automatically inflate when it is submerged in water.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator having an intermediate pin that more securely engages the piercing pin upon the activation of the inflator.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator having an intermediate pin that requires less tooling and thereby is more economical to manufacture.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator having an actuator pin that is made of a single one piece injection molded structure thereby lessening the cost of manufacturing the automatic inflator.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator having a single one piece cylindrical cap that internally movably secures the actuator pin thereby reducing the number of required parts to assemble the inflator.
Another object of this invention is to provide an automatic inflator for inflating an inflatable article with gas from a gas-containing capsule, comprising in combination: an inflator body including a bore; a means at an upper end of the bore for receiving the gas-containing capsule; a piercing pin assembly which is reciprocatably positioned within the bore; an actuator assembly positioned at a lower end of the bore for actuating the piercing pin assembly to allow gas from the gas-containing capsule to flow into the bore; means for fluidly connecting the bore to the inflatable article; and the actuator assembly comprising an actuator body having apertures positioned thereon, the apertures being in fluid communication with air passages facilitating access to the actuator assembly, the apertures further having bottom internal surfaces that slope downward, whereby when the inflator is in proper vertical position with the gas-containing capsule facing upwards the bottom internal surfaces of the apertures promote the flow of water splashes away from the air passages so as to allow the entering of water therein when submerged in water, and when not submerged in water, concurrently thereby preventing the entering of inadvertent water therein.
These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a more comprehensive understanding of the invention may be obtained by referring to the summary of the invention, and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.